Unintentionally Mine
by Alternative Angel
Summary: When Igneel had explained courtship behavior to his young son, he'd failed to mention pretty blonde mages that would unwittingly initiate the thousand-year-old tradition purely out of disproportionate gratitude and then just keep at it by simply being herself. Natsu just tries to roll with it. /-An absurd lack of communication results in the slowest, strangest romance in centuries.
1. Unintentionally Started This Mess

**_Slow-burn romance and courtship hell, here I come. With a heaping helping of "series re-imagined"._**

Disclaimer: _(Seriously, are these even necessary?) I do not own anything of the Fairy Tail franchise, barring this fic, some concepts I'm playing around with, and the anthology I'm working on in tandem with these romantic bullshit._

Notes: _The first chapter is mostly just Igneel's exposition. There's maybe six lines of dialogue, tops. If that doesn't bother you too much, carry on. Also, spoilers for the entire series. I'm slowly going to work my way up to the most recent parts of the manga, one arc at a time. So, if you're not caught up, I suggest you don't read later chapters of this. This one is safe for everyone, though._

* * *

Igneel had taught his son many things during his childhood. Most of it was pretty standard, from what he understood of humans: reading, fighting, magic, etc. But most people forgot that Natsu was his _son_.

And that meant that he'd also had to teach the damned brat pretty basic stuff too, like:

"Don't eat that bug, you'll make yourself sick."

"Yeah, you'll lose that tooth, but a new one will come in, don't worry."

"If you climb that tree, you're gonna fall–and it's gonna hurt like hell."

"Don't punch people in the face as a greeting, you idiot. Unless they deserved it."

"If you ever _like_ someone…"

Well, that last one was way more complicated than Natsu had ever had the patience for as a child, as well as completely useless in the boy's eyes, but luckily, Igneel knew his son well, so he'd stuck more to explaining courtship traditions than the emotional shit that got you into that.

* * *

There are three stages to a dragon's courtship: testing, bonding, and proving. Unlike that weird, one-sided crap humans seemed to swear by, both parties were expected to contribute to the courtship, so as to encourage a more equal match. One had to initiate the courtship, of course, but after that, it was up to both of them to progress the relationship.

You mostly went through the first part–the simplest part–in order to test your compatibility with the person. Will they share food with you willingly? How badly do they react to your uninvited presence in their territory? Can they be trusted to have your back in combat? Can you even achieve basic teamwork?

All of these were key in making sure a match was even possible. After all, these were essential with family and friends as much as they were with your intended. Sharing meals and watching over each other implied a vested interest in your wellbeing; cooperation and tolerance to invasions of privacy implied an acceptance of your continued proximity. If you couldn't even manage these, than you were better off ending the courtship before you wasted anymore effort.

Bonding–the next step–was considered easier in some regards, but honestly, the fire dragon found the whole affair more emotionally exhausting than anything else. He prayed Natsu would handle it better than _he_ had in his youth.

He wasn't holding his breath, though.

The second stage was mainly spent maturing the developing bond, so that it might grow from a flickering light into a roaring fire, warning away outsiders from getting too close. You shared personal effects like old scales or–in his son's more human case–clothes, as an acceptable substitute for the more physical contact that would also be encouraged during this phase.

At the same time, you would continue on with the same behavior as before, only instead of as small tests, they acted more to coax a further closeness between the two parties.

There was some benefit to this further intimacy, Igneel admitted. Your emotions would be at a heightened rate around this person, bringing such feelings as joy, amusement, hope, and gratitude to the surface easily. It allowed for an easier way to both give comfort and be comforted.

However, it also had the drawback of enhancing your negative emotions too. Jealousy came too easily, shame was almost paralyzing, and grief could overwhelm to such a degree that you'd be driven mad.

Which is where the actions of protection came in to save them all from the emotional hellhole that was this stage.

Trusting your person to have your back was one thing; expecting them to give up their life for the sake of yours was another entirely. Someone actually believes that you were the most important thing in their world, and they want nothing but for you to keep on living, even if they must pay the ultimate price? That was practically a declaration of intent in itself.

And shielding you emotionally? Sharing in your pain and giving you strength when you feel most like giving up? Taking your heart into their care and healing all the scars you never even knew you had? Sappy as hell, and and pretty much the ultimate guarantee that you won the mating lottery, so _do something about it_ , you moron.

Igneel kind of got excited when he got to the final part: the Acts of Proof. _This_ was the shit that made dragons famous. This was where humans got all their silly legends from, all those fairy tales of battles and riddles and thefts, where they turned impulsive actions made by young dragons high off of romance into insane, maniacal acts of terror.

It was _awesome_.

"Wait, what the hell do you mean, I've gotta prove myself? What the hell's the point of all that other stuff, then?" And just like that, Natsu completely ruined the moment. As usual.

Scratching his head, he searched for the simplest way to explain to his idiot son just why you had to prove yourself to your intended before marriage without falling back on the old "it's traditional" excuse. He was trying to encourage the boy to actually follow through on this, not cheerfully set fire to thousands of years of propriety just because he felt like demonstrating what a defiant little brat he was.

Ah.

"Think about it like this: you're training to be the strongest Dragon Slayer ever, right?" At the furious nodding, he continued, "Well, what's the point of all that training if you can't _prove_ that you're the strongest?"

A moment of silence followed before those big, onyx eyes lit up in understanding. " _Oooh_ …"

The old dragon smirked to himself before continuing on with his lesson.

Proving yourself to your mate was exactly what it sounded like. Whilst the two of you were now at a point where you were practically mates in all but name, there were still matters of pride to consider, especially considering how far word spread amongst their species.

Dragons collected things they considered of great value. It was a fact, and there was no shame in that. But the whole 'hoarding gold and jewels' myth would probably have died sooner if so many morons didn't do the whole "even amongst all this splendor, you are beautiful" schtick. Gods, the cliché of it all could make him vomit magma.

But yeah, gifts were important. More than bribes, they acted more as a way of saying that you were capable of acquiring whatever you needed, which translated to being able to provide for yourself, your mate, and your future family. (And also, maybe just a little, it was about bragging rights. "I stole that princess right in in the middle of that massive fortress." "Okay, but how about that magic sword in the stone from that one king?" "Pfft, so what? I built a fucking _volcano_.")

And not just _gift_ gifts. Food was an important and very traditional offering, both providing sustenance and showing off your capabilities depending on the type of game you hunted. Then there were enormous kingdoms carved from mountains, unreachable caves full of magical wonders, castles that forever floated in the sky, all elaborate homes to offer your intended. Hell, there was even one asshole that sunk an entire island city and made an underwater palace out of it.

Following that, there were the standard contests of strength and such that you used as a way to bolster your reputation. And show off, yeah.

Okay, yes, the whole proving stage is one big competition to show up all the other assholes in the nearest hundred-thousand leagues and show off in front of your intended, _so what_. Dragons are competitive, dammit, name one species that isn't.

Anyways, the point is, you spend the entire time basically proving why you're the best damn thing that's ever happened to your mate and guaranteeing that they have absolutely no reason to ever leave you, for your own peace of mind.

And then you do the proper thing and ask them for their hand, to be by your side for the rest of your lives and even beyond that.

The blank stare he received when he got to that last bit told him he'd pretty much lost his son's interest, so with a sigh, the dragon cut his lecture and resolved to talk more about the "weird romantic crap" when Natsu was a little older and more appreciative of an old dragon's lessons on matters of the heart.

It was unfortunate that Acnologia's scaly ass had to come and fuck everything up before he could.

* * *

Several years later, most of which were spent looking for his long-missing father, Natsu would come to regret not taking more interest in that particular lecture of Igneel's. Accepting that the situation was what it was had been hard enough. Figuring out how to act was a hell of a lot harder, and making it sure it worked out was damn near impossible.

Never before had he wanted his old man around so badly, just to give him some advice. But he was on his own for this.

Dammit, why did Lucy always have to make everything so complicated? From the minute he'd met her, she'd unknowingly walked into countless messes and gotten herself entangled without even trying. And here she was, accidentally starting something humans barely even knew existed, easy as you please, driving him up the wall half the time and keeping him grounded the other half. He wasn't sure how much more he could take, especially with her still completely oblivious even after all this time.

Well fine, then. If she wanted to be his so badly (subconsciously or not), he'd happily accept her. Natsu would just have to finish what she'd started.

* * *

 _I think you all know where this is going now._

 _Contrary to what that last line is implying, **I'm not immediately leaping into Natsu trying to woo Lucy**. The next several chapters are gonna be revisiting the various points in the series, from the beginning to the end, to establish just _ how _this whole situation got to this point. I meant when I said this was gonna be slow-burn romance and courtship hell._

 _Gotta admit, writing from Igneel's POV is kind of fun, even if it was mostly just courtship exposition and sidebars. I haven't got a real feel for his personality, so I went with something like what I imagine Natsu will be like in the future: more mature, but kind of "old man-like" petty. Except I think Igneel loved telling stories a whole lot more, so this whole explanation on courtship and stuff is more something he would do than his son._

 _Sadly, this is the last we'll see of the old dragon now, barring flashbacks. After this, it's completely up to Natsu to carry the story through, in which he takes us on a journey throughout the series as he's courted by an ignorant Celestial mage and subsequently falls for her._

 _…I don't know whether to laugh or cry._

 _Let me know where I made mistakes, or if you have questions. Or hell, even suggestions will do. No guarantees I'll do anything with them, but I'm really open to feedback right now._


	2. Unintentionally Got A Girl

_Since I didn't really say it in the prologue, allow me to say it now: I want to express my gratitude to Twinado, for helping me out as a beta, even when she has her own stuff going on._

 **Notes:** _Um… Let me just say, I am **amazed** at the feedback I got from you guys. Seriously, wow. It's actually kinda nerve-wracking to know so many people are so excited about this. Hope I don't disappoint you with these first few chapters, where it's gonna be more about Natsu getting to know Lucy and accepting her than about falling in love with her. But we'll get there soon enough, I promise you. And the courtship hijinks will pick up, especially after this chapter._

 _Also, this first act is gonna be told in… flashbacks, I guess? I'm honestly not sure anymore._

* * *

That fateful day hadn't started out as anything particularly special. Sure, he was pursuing what Happy thought sounded like a pretty promising lead on his dad, but really, it wasn't that different from the fifty-or-so other investigations he'd gone looking into. Just some vague clue, in some boring town, after some run-of-the-mill mission. And a god-awful train he'd ended up stuck riding twice.

 _Ugh_.

Really, nothing he hadn't suffered through many, many, _many_ times before. Even the disappointment of some lame-ass human mage with equally lame-ass fire magic being the source of the rumors wasn't that big of a surprise, really. Kinda weird, yeah, but sadly not the first time it'd happened to him. The crowd of obnoxious and violent fangirls didn't usually enter this kind of scenario, but again, not anything he wasn't fairly used to, _thank you, Loke_.

And some girl quietly insulting a sleazy guy after he'd vacated the premises? Please, come by Fairy Tail some time, the girls there wouldn't even wait _that_ long to start making jabs.

But then, the girl turned–she was actually kinda pretty, he noticed–and rather cheerfully greeted both him and Happy with a weird "Thanks for earlier!" and proceeded to invite them to lunch. Her treat.

That.

That was new.

* * *

 **The act of sharing or giving food is a pretty standard way to show interest in your potential mate's wellbeing.**

* * *

Despite what some ice-making assholes may think, he was smart enough to know that offering a person food did not mean that someone was trying to vie for marriage. It didn't always mean shit for dragons either, after all–and he wasn't a _moron_.

So, he wasn't leaping to conclusions, even if it was a little weird that a complete stranger he'd met not twenty minutes ago was buying him lunch. He was just gonna appreciate the fact that Lu-something (it's surprisingly hard to hear over the sound of your own chewing) was a stupidly nice person that somehow thought stumbling through a crowd warranted an entire free meal. Even if she did talk a whole lot about stuff even the youngest mages knew about.

He _did_ twitch a little when he realized she thought he was some regular person. And kept excitedly chattering at him before he could get a word in to correct her. It was almost like talking to a little kid.

"There's no way something like that would be here!"

A little kid that made a very good point. In hindsight, a fire dragon being in a human town near the ocean did seem pretty farfetched; he'd kick Jameson's ass when he got back. But he was interrupted from his stewing by Lucci's quick goodbye–and going the extra mile by placing enough money to cover all three of their orders, and even some extra.

She really was just _way_ too generous. She wouldn't even take that famous guy's autograph to settle the score even a little. Honestly, he was starting to feel like he was being propositioned.

Aaaand now she was gone. Ah well. Far be it for him to turn down free food, even if it didn't really feel right.

Once his hunger pains had abated, he stopped eating quite so fast and tried to savor all of the different foods he'd normally not bother spending the jewels on. Happy was also taking the opportunity to sample the variety of fresh fish available to a port town, with a rather dreamy expression on his face… He had a feeling more money would be going towards Happy's food expenses from now on.

It was dark by the time they finally wrapped up and made their way downtown, patting their stomachs in contentment. Even if the lead had turned out to be a dead-end, they were finishing the day off on a surprisingly good note. It was a clear night, his sleeping bag was intact, they had full bellies–not a bad way to end their trip.

Of course, Happy had to point out the stupid ship sitting in the bay. Ugh, just thinking about the rocking and swaying made him nauseous, to his best friend's exasperation. In between his gasps for air as he tried to swallow down the bile, he could pick out a couple of girls talking about some party that a famous guy was throwing. Probably that Sala-

"He's that famous mage from Fairy Tail."

Both he and Happy jolted to attention.

For the first time, he actually understood what people meant by something "feeling like a bucket of ice water dumped on you", though it didn't take very long for that feeling to be replaced with a steady boiling in his veins. His eyes found the ship once again, now gauging how long it would take them to reach it and where would be the best place to gain entry.

That bastard had better pray to the gods of death that this was a misunderstanding, or else he would be paying those gods a visit very soon.

* * *

Maybe it shouldn't have surprised him that the weird girl from before seemed to be in the thick of things here. After all, anyone that generous ( _and pretty_ , an idiotic part of him muttered) was just asking for trouble from all sorts of people–plus, she seemed pretty ditzy. Still, it was kind of surprising, considering how much she seemed to loathe the guy a few hours ago. Not any of his business, though. He had bigger fish to fry.

Just as soon as the stupid ship stopped rocking.

He couldn't even open his mouth to interrogate the bastard without worrying about vomiting all over himself. Deep breaths were all he could manage.

But his ears were working just fine and-

Fairy Tail? Really? She's been aiming to join _their_ guild? And this creep had duped her too?

Well, at least he knew how he could repay her now. Once he'd taken care of a certain smarmy, lying jackass. Lucky for her, Happy knew the drill when it came to his fights, and seemed already fond of her, so he didn't hesitate to grab her and fly away. One less thing for him to worry about.

Now, if only this stupid ship would stop fucking _rocking-_

It was at that exact moment that he got his wish. Via a shit ton of sea water flooding the entire ship and sending the damn thing careening across the bay.

He wasn't sure how to take being washed away by some flash flood that disappeared as suddenly as it came, but his eyes were certainly spinning from it. It took him a good minute to shake off the disorientation and glance outside–to see they'd crashed into the port. _Literally_ crashed into it.

Where the hell did a tidal wave that massive even _come_ from? First this Salamander guy that he was pretty sure was impersonating Fairy Tail, then that weird girl damn near propositioning him, and now a freak tsunami hitting the ship so hard it dug a crater in the port. He couldn't tell whether luck was on his side today or not. At least the rocking stopped. And the girl was safe, even if she seemed to have run back towards the danger, like an idiot.

Whatever, he had other problems to deal with.

"Oi, are you really from Fairy Tail?" he hissed, now fully recovered. He'd give the man a chance to take it back. He was nice like that.

The blue-haired bastard dared to smirk as he claimed that he was. And that just wouldn't do.

Natsu took a moment to get a good, long look at the face of the son of a bitch that dared drag Fairy Tail's name through the mud. When his smirk crept further up his face, the dragon slayer snapped and bashed the nearest flunky's face into the floor. From there, it was an all-out brawl.

Or perhaps it'd be better described as a massacre.

He could admit he may've gone a bit overboard, but in his defense, he hadn't been this well-fed in years. He had a lot of energy to work off, and these sorry assholes were such a wonderful outlet. Honestly, he was kind of putout that the military showed up when they did. They _did_ remind him of something, though…

Thinking fast, he grabbed Lushi and beat a quick retreat.

She may have protested at him dragging her along, but when he'd made it clear where he was taking her, she'd been more than happy to join Happy and him in their escape. She even laughed as the soldiers kept screaming at them to come back, and her excitement was contagious, putting matching smiles on both boys' faces.

Yeah, in spite of it all, today was ending on a pretty good note.

* * *

 **Even before initiating a courtship, it's always good to make sure that the other party is at least _interested_ in you.**

* * *

Really, after bringing her to Fairy Tail, he'd thought he and Luigi would go their separate ways. He'd done his part, that should've been that. The hell did he care that she got the guild mark? He could appreciate her enthusiasm, but seriously, gush to Mira, not him.

There may have been a part of him that was a little nervous she'd try to pull something like she had in Hargeon, but if anyone asked, the only reason he was speeding to the job board was because he was broke. He was not running away from a ditzy blonde with weird ideas of gratitude, nope, shut the hell up, Happy.

Of course, just when he found a pretty decent-sounding job, he had to overhear Gramps and Romeo arguing about Macao. The idiot still wasn't back yet, and not even his son's tears could persuade the old man to send someone after him. Unbidden, memories of an empty clearing and a silent forest flooded his mind, and a sour taste built in the back of his throat.

Before he'd even realized what he was doing, he'd already grabbed his pack and promised Romeo something he knew damn well he couldn't guarantee. And now he was on yet another monstrous device sent from hell to torture him. With an unexpected, blonde tagalong.

If he wasn't so damn nauseous, he'd have questioned her intentions more. Hell, he'd probably have made sure she didn't even get in the carriage in the first place. The last thing he and Happy needed was unnecessary baggage.

"You can live with Natsu and me," his best–soon to be dead–friend offered when the other mage mentioned looking for a place to live. Dammit, he was trying to avoid getting into a damn courtship with the girl, not skip all the way to the final stage of one. His dad would punt him off a cliff the second he found out, he was somehow certain.

Luckily, despite her suspicious intentions and general ditziness, even she seemed to take issue with the suggestion. Thank the gods.

And with that, they could finally disembark. Why she seemed to be surprised at the weather was beyond him, but she definitely wasn't prepared for it. Damn girl even stole his sleeping bag for her own blanket before summoning a totally awesome clock-shield-thing to hide in.

"I'll stay here, she says," the clock guy… spoke for her? What the hell?

Okay, it didn't matter how pretty this girl was, she was just _weird_. Or an idiot. Probably the latter. She didn't even know what job Macao had been in the middle of before getting involved in this, geez. She really just needed to leave already.

And by that, he meant she needed to go back to Magnolia, not get kidnapped by the very monster they were just talking about. Oh well, at least he didn't have to wander aimlessly through the blizzard anymore. Even better, it looked like the bastard could talk. That just made things so much easier.

He and Happy quickly took off in pursuit, before that monkey's tracks disappeared once more. It didn't take them long to find the cave he must've been using as a shelter, but when they got there, Happy fell back and told the flame mage that he was gonna keep out of sight in case they needed to get out quick. Natsu didn't see the necessity of it, but he wasn't gonna protest against his buddy being cautious.

Turned out to be a good call on the blue cat's part, as Natsu seemed to have caught onto a certain pretty girl's stupidity and just naively followed the Vulcan over to the cliff-side for the bastard to push him off. If it weren't for Happy's years of experience and fast reaction time, he doubted he'd have come out of that fall in one piece.

In his defense, his reaction to the sight of more monsters greeting them upon reaching the cave once more was entirely justified. He did not have time to deal with some giant-ass bull monster on top of that monkey bastard, so he'd just chosen the appropriate response of a flying kick to the face.

How was he supposed to know that the new freak had just happened to be another of that girl's weird spirits? It was like she had hundreds of them, dammit.

Ugh, whatever, it wasn't like he could've been that useful, anyways, if just one kick could do him in. Not that he was gonna say as much. Ditzy as she may have been, he had a good idea of just how well she'd take such a comment. So, instead he focused on the pervert monkey that seemed to have built some kind of grudge against him and was now trying to turn him into a damn pincushion.

Pfft, too bad his weapons of choice were all things made of ice, the stupid-

And then the Vulcan picked up that bull's giant fucking axe. That. That could be a problem.

With a downright fucking murderous look on his face, the monster started swinging every which way. And truthfully, he was a little too quick with the thing. Natsu was gonna get cleaved in two at this rate.

Right as he thought this, he tripped, leaving himself wide-open for the axe heading straight for him. His quick reflexes helped him catch it in time, but the monkey was strong. Stronger than him in this particular instance, which meant the giant blade was baring down on him hard. He had to act fast.

Melting a piece of the axe down into a pseudo-bullet that beaned the monster in the forehead to stun him long enough for a flaming fist to the face–it was honestly one of his smartest moves ever, and he was a little disappointed that only his best friend and their little tagalong had gotten to see it.

Well, them and Macao, whom was apparently stupid enough to let Vulcan perform a Take-over. Geez, and people called him reckless. At least he wasn't crazy enough to take on a Take-over monster without any backup, or else he'd be the one falling out of an opening to his-

Oh shit!

He and Happy were quick, but luck was not on their side. They'd managed to leap over the edge and catch Macao, but the flying cat couldn't carry two grown men, his magic was gonna run out any second anyways, and Natsu didn't have any spells in his arsenal that would help them here. He was scrambling for options as they began falling once more.

But then, they weren't.

* * *

 **When your intended has your back, even in the thick of combat, take that as the guarantee that they care about your well-being.**

* * *

He couldn't help the surprised flush in his cheeks as he took in the pretty blonde mage gripping Happy's tail and holding all three of them up. She was struggling with all her might to haul them up, even though it was obvious even from his position that she didn't have the strength for it. Still, she refused to let go.

Huh.

Thankfully, that Bull of hers turned out to be a better (and more useful) guy than he'd thought. Between him and Lucy, they managed to drag them back up to the relative safety of the cave, and from there they'd started ministering first aid to Macao, whom was actually in pretty bad shape.

It was pretty touch-and-go, especially with that hole in his side bleeding as heavily as it was. But, as he was coming to find, Lucy wasn't as squeamish as she looked, so he was able to cauterize the wound while she held Macao down. There may have been some shouting about what was best for Romeo, but he wasn't gonna mention it. The stubborn bastard's condition stabilized pretty quickly once they got to the hospital, and the look of shame in his eyes made it obvious enough he'd gotten through to him, so that was good enough for him

Although, the pair of big, brown eyes that kept watching them fondly flustered him a little. At least he wasn't the only one unnerved by it. Every time Macao noticed Lucy looking at him, he'd scratch the back of his head and try to avoid her gaze as he asked after Romeo again and again.

By the time they'd reached Magnolia, Lucy had thankfully lost that soft look in her eyes, though she kept smiling for no reason. Actually, she seemed pretty cheery from the moment they'd met, so that might've just been normal for her.

They left quickly after witnessing the touching father-son reunion, having already done their part. As Romeo shouted his thanks after them, Natsu glanced back at the cheery blonde that had turned out to be a pretty good addition to their team, however uninvited.

And he couldn't help thinking, as he took in her sunny grin aimed back at the little boy and his dad, that maybe a courtship wouldn't be such a bad thing. At the very least, Igneel would definitely like her.

* * *

 _First chapter of this slow-burn hell, done!_

 _So, what'd you guys think? I know it was more or less just me embellishing the first two adventures of our intrepid trio (although I kind of shoved Happy into the background. Whoops.), but I promise that it's going to be a bit more original the further in I go._

 _Though, to be fair, I came up with this whole premise as a way to explain why the hell Natsu was so nonchalant about all the romantic shenanigans, despite obviously understanding the implications of it all, so it may be that I try to shoe-horn straight canon in here to just to prove a point. Heh._

 _Many thanks to:  
_ _Rebecca Frost , Marie Allen, Sunny Mars, cutekittenlady, and R0ckandR0gue for expressing your excitement. Here's hoping you enjoyed the first chapter.  
Empress of Everything, I'm really glad you enjoyed Igneel. I had a lot of fun writing him, and yeah, his bit about showing off was a nice, light-hearted bit I couldn't help including.  
Lyonsgirl, good call. That is definitely something I was alluding to, and I hope I do that part justice when I get to it.  
RosesAndRavens, thanks for telling me. I'm honestly pretty bad about disjointed writing, so I appreciate you telling me that. I'll try to be better about it.  
ofsaltandsea, it's a cute idea, isn't it? It's a fun perspective to have when going through the series, let me tell you. And thanks about Igneel. I loved writing him.  
SailingFreely, you would definitely be right about that. However, more often than not, Natsu will definitely be intentional, if clumsy, when trying to reciprocate. This I can assure you.  
wisdom-of-me, well, I don't know about Natsu dying inside, but he's definitely gonna be screaming internally. Especially whenever Lucy gives him mixed signals. Or advances their "relationship" without warning. Poor guy's just scrambling to keep up.  
semi-absorbed, I'm glad it's standing out! This was partially due to frustration at how most of the mating stuff was portrayed, and I wanted a semi-realistic approach. Ah, thanks for letting me know about the shift between persons. I'm bad about things like that, especially when I get to do exposition type stuff._

 _And a massive thanks to everyone that Favorited and Followed this story. I'd list you all, but… that would take quite a while, and I'm naturally a really lazy person. So, generic gratitude that is still sincere will have to do!_

 _Here's hoping I can get the next chapter out sooner than I did this one. Feel free to give me more feedback, as that's the only way I can improve. I appreciate all the support I've gotten from you guys, and I hope I can live up to your expectations._


	3. Unintentionally Made A Friend

_Apologies for the wait, but in my defense, holidays are never going to equate to free time with me, unfortunately._

 **Notes:** _Amazed as always at the feedback I'm getting from everyone. Heads up, courting and romance are gonna be pretty sparse here. Slow burn hell is slow burn hell, after all. Also, some original content at the end, so let me know what you think of that mess._

 _Also, this takes place during the Duke Everlue arc. If you're not caught up to that, I… really have no idea what to tell you, man._

 _Shout out to Twinado for taking the time to read this over and make sure it's in top condition for you folks._

* * *

So, he could admit that Lucy wasn't all that bad. Ditzy as hell, but she was stronger than she looked and definitely entertaining, if nothing else. And Happy liked her too, oddly enough. Of course, the second he decided he liked the summoner well enough, she up and disappeared on him.

But he was hardly one to sulk, especially over some new girl. Even without any leads on Igneel, there were still jobs to do and money to earn. It was just a matter of finding one interesting enough to…

 _Burn a certain book belonging to Duke Everlue._

Location: _Shirotsume Town_

Reward: _J 200,000_

It was a ridiculously easy job for that high of a price, and ordinarily he'd be pretty suspicious, but…

 _*Warning: This man is a raging, unapologetic pervert._

 _*Duke Everlue is currently looking to hire a blonde maid._

A devious grin started to inch up his face as he reread that last line. Ignoring the weary looks of suspicion sent his way, he ambled over to the bar to let Mira know which job he was taking. And to ask where he could find a certain newbie undoubtedly in need of money.

* * *

 **Sharing space is an important aspect of any relationship. How well you're received when unexpected says a lot about their fondness for you.**

* * *

Even when asked later, Natsu wasn't quite sure what possessed him to break into Lucy's new home and make himself comfortable. He knew from personal experience just what a spectacularly bad idea snooping through a girls room was, and his dad would have his hide if he ever found out about Natsu doing this with anyone but his intended.

And yet.

He couldn't help recalling their first meeting, when she treated him to a literal feast for doing nothing at all. He couldn't keep from pondering on her surprising desire to tag along after him and Happy. He certainly couldn't stop thinking about her lunging after him on Mt. Hakobe to save his life (and Happy's and Macao's). Three times now, she'd attempted to court him–albeit unintentionally. Didn't seem inclined to stop doing it either.

He supposed that had lulled him into a false sense of security. And to be fair, she'd inserted herself into his life pretty damn fast for someone he'd known barely four days. Seemed only fair he return the favor.

Which meant that damn kick to his face was _completely_ uncalled for. It also, admittedly, threw him off how upset she was, considering she'd been downright overly friendly from the moment they'd met. Why she chose now of all times to preach about distance was beyond him. And her desperation to hide those papers was even weirder.

Thankfully, she warmed back up pretty quick, even offering him tea, so he guessed she wasn't actually _that_ bothered by his presence there. It was… comforting, for reasons he wasn't gonna look too hard at. But that wasn't why he had come here, and so he started putting his plan in motion.

Lucy wasn't keen on bringing out any of her spirits, like Bull or the clock guy, but that was only a minor setback. He could work with a new one just as well. Even one that was… was… What the hell _was_ it? It looked like a snowman had come to life and gone totally wrong. Did she accidentally screw up the summoning?

Well, she claimed she didn't, but she also said the thing was _cute_. Gods, she was a weirdo. Even her magic was weird as hell, from the creatures it brought to their literal contracts. But that thing about keeping her word… that was promising.

He was distracted from his scheming by her weird-ass name for the… snowman-dog-thing. Plue. What the _hell_.

Ah well, if it got a smile like _that_ out of her… He may or may not have been struck a little dumb by it.

Fortunately for him, Plue the snow-mutant chose at that moment to start playing charades. He was running around and punching the air, which seemed obvious enough to him, and then he brought his paws together with a smile… Huh. Guess these spirits really _were_ pretty handy. Damn thing had given him the perfect opening.

All it took was admitting that Lucy had been surprisingly helpful and pretending that it was all Plue's idea to get her interested. Happy's explanation on the purpose of teams made it sound reasonable. And everyone else's enthusiasm pulled her along, causing her to agree and sealing her fate. She couldn't turn down the job now, not even once she'd realized just _why_ they'd sought her out for this job. Spirit mages kept their word, after all.

Not even her cries of betrayal or teary, begging eyes were gonna make him let her out of it.

Though he supposed he _might_ have deserved the snide comments thrown his way during the carriage ride. Just a little.

* * *

He was trying to be a good teammate to Lucy, even if she didn't seem to appreciate his effort to include her in _things_. Hell, even when she turned him down for lunch, he still intended to save some food for her.

Not that she seemed to appreciate that either, judging by the exasperated tone she was using to reject their attempt to do even that the second she got back. It would've annoyed him, except that he was kind of distracted by the maid now standing before him. The _blonde_ maid. By the gods, had Lucy taken them _seriously_?

It was hard to say whether he or Happy was more incredulous. He'd known she was a bit gullible, and definitely ditzy as hell, but this was unbelievable. She'd even worn the thing in public, for crying out loud. Truth be told, he was starting to worry a bit about bringing her on this job.

But then their employer bumped up the prize to 2 _million_ , and well… he could be forgiven for letting his greed get the better of him. After all, it wasn't like Happy was much better, though he did note that Lucy didn't seem as eager with the increase. If anything, she looked like she was ready to back out at any second. His best friend must have noticed too, because Happy didn't waste a second to heckle her some more about how little of the pay she was gonna get.

It worked all too well, with her willingly walking all the way across town in her maid getup. And it certainly seemed to be effective with the number of onlookers they passed, so their plan to use Lucy as bait seemed pretty surefire at that point. Unfortunately, it seemed the duke's tastes ran… in another direction. One he wasn't aware _existed_ , but okay. So that plan was a bust.

Not that it seemed to have deterred the summoning mage one bit. In fact, she was more determined than ever to break in and destroy the book. Sure, she was insisting on unnecessary things like stealth and subtlety, but at least she was being a little more aggressive now.

"In addition to burning the book, I'll hide his shoes and other stuff!"

…A six-year-old's idea of aggressive, but he'd take what he could get. Even if she was gonna force him to crawl around the mansion at a snail's pace, at least she was gonna let them pretend to be ninjas while doing this boring-ass crap.

Of course, right when he was starting to get on board with this whole sneaking around thing, they had to get discovered by the army of… maids. Couldn't actually do shit, but it did kind of ruin the whole "stay quiet" plan. In his defense, though, the maids attacking them did imply they'd already been discovered, so Lucy could stop sighing at him like it was his fault.

They ended up finding the book pretty quickly, all things considered. This whole job really was turning out to be laughably easy. Thus far, their biggest obstacle was–

Lucy, apparently.

She was being surprisingly stubborn about this stupid book, and it was starting to piss him off. Not the job, not Everlue, not even him yelling was convincing her to let go of the damn thing. She was ignoring literally everything around her in favor of the novel, up to and including the showdown he was having with the pair of mercenaries that just showed up.

Although, it was kind of funny seeing how pissed off they were getting at her dismissal. Or, it was until she decided to take off on her own, shouting some nonsense about a secret hidden in the book. Not that that had anything do with their actual mission, but Lucy clearly didn't care about that anymore. Nonetheless, he sent Happy after her. In her current state, he doubted she'd notice the duke giving chase.

And, hey, he got to take out some of his frustration on a couple of assholes with superiority complexes. They were pretty good opponents for normal folks, and they even managed to get a couple hits in, so at the very least, he got a half decent fight out of them.

Did wonders for his irritation with Lucy too, which meant he could go after her himself without worrying about shaking her when he finally got ahold of her. It just left the question of where exactly she was in this ridiculous mansion. The debris in the air from his little brawl really messed with his nose, but he didn't want to waste too much time searching room after room...

Just then, he caught a twitch from that ogre-like maid. Perhaps she knew where her master was? The second he grabbed hold of her, though, his world began to dissolve.

* * *

There were stars all around him, above and below. Little spheres of land with weird monuments and equally weird plants dotted his surroundings. It was beautiful, but…

Something in him was disturbed at how unnatural and empty this place was, screaming at him to run, to get out, _hurry before it's too late_.

* * *

And then he was back. He didn't actually recognize his surroundings, and the prevalent scent of sewage was off-putting. But he could also smell Lucy and Happy, and his skin no longer crawled at the eerie, airless space he was for just a moment. The relief he felt at that was enough to eclipse any residual exasperation with the blonde, and he quickly followed her lead once he realized that he'd dropped in on a battle in progress.

He took down the maid, as Lucy had directed, and to his surprise, she took advantage of the duke's distraction to take care of him herself. Pretty damn spectacularly at that. She tossed him into the air, finished him with a strike from one of her spirits (a new guy with scissors and crab legs _and who the hell came up with these guys?_ ), and even managed to top it off with a cool one-liner.

The icing on the cake had to be the duke's newfound baldness, though. Really, Lucy was just as outrageous as the rest of Fairy Tail. He was a little proud.

On their way back to Melon, the blonde mage took the time to explain herself, citing how the uncharacteristic nature of the work had made her suspicious and brought to light just _how_ the duke had obtained the supposedly worthless book. Even he was finding it hard to press the issue of destroying it, if only because his own curiosity was alight now.

But she kept a tight lid on the actual secret hidden inside, insisting that their employer should really be the one to know the truth behind Day Break. So, he let it go and just quietly followed along, content to let her take the lead for this last stretch of their mission. It had certainly been more lively than expected, but he wasn't going to complain. He couldn't remember the last time he had had so much fun doing work.

The discovery that Melon was actually the author's son and had been determined to destroy his father's last work destroyed his good mood pretty fast, though. He didn't care that it had been a piece of shame for his father, and he wasn't particularly appeased with his story either. Atonement may've helped _him_ feel better, but his dad…

He hoped Lucy was gonna reveal the mystery of this whole affair soon, before his blood really started to boil.

However, she kept her silence, just watching the man and seeming to wait for something. What for soon became apparent when the book started glowing, letters lifting away and rearranging themselves. Not just the title, but every single letter in the book itself. They glittered beautifully as they filled the room and then began to swirl. The damn things were even tangible, bouncing slightly when he touched them. He wasn't normally one to find much value in words, but for once, he was entranced by them. The words had _literally_ jumped off the page.

Between that show and the honest tears of sorrow and joy in Kaby's eyes, he really couldn't find it in him to stay mad. Especially as Lucy told them the real reason the book was so important. And, okay, he was damn glad she'd insisted he didn't burn it. Something like that, dedicated to his son and made with all the love he had for his family–he was pretty impressed with this author. The fact that the magic inside the book lasted so goddamn long was pretty amazing too.

Considering all that, he really couldn't accept the reward money now. Sort of a bummer, but with everything that had happened, he wasn't all that torn up about it. It'd been a hell of an adventure, and he'd gotten to see something incredible. Even Lucy couldn't whine too much about it.

Not now that he knew she was a writer herself, he grinned knowingly.

As expected, she was ridiculously flustered at being figured out, immediately shrieking about not letting anyone else know. He didn't fully understand why, but he'd do as she asked. He was feeling benevolent.

She trailed off after a while of walking, having quickly accepted that they were walking instead of taking the hell device back home. Instead, he noted that she was eagerly taking in her surroundings, an excited gleam in her eyes that belied her early complaints about how slow the return trip would be. He didn't really see what was so impressive about a small creek and some trees, but she seemed… almost in awe. It was like she'd never been on a walk and had to take it all in while she could.

Seeing the wistful look in her eyes reminded him a little of the times he'd spent as a kid looking to the horizon, waiting for Igneel to come flying in from wherever the hell he'd taken off to. She looked just as lonely as he'd felt then too...

...

But if Gramps could help him back then, then he could help her now. You just had to start out small.

With that in mind, he started leaping back and forth across the creek. Both Lucy and Happy were confused at first, but when he just shot them a grin and started adding little flips and kicks to his leaps, excited grins matched his as they cheered for each successful jump. It didn't take long for Happy to start calling out challenges: two kicking flips this time, a flaming spin next, three corkscrew twists after that.

Of course, it wasn't long before he misjudged the distance and nearly fell back into the water when he landed just barely on the other side. Luckily, he had a guardian angel in the form of a certain blonde mage that was good at catching him before he fell. For a while after that, she kept close by, watching to make sure he didn't fall again.

Soon enough, though, he got bored with all the jumping and settled back on the their side. Before the quiet from could fill the air again, he quickly grabbed Lucy and hauled her over the edge of the creek. She shrieked at first, obviously not trusting him, but when all he did was get them both standing on the ledge, confusion took over. For several moments, they just stared at one another expectantly, until his patience thinned again and he tugged on her wrist to get her moving. When she only kept shooting him that bewildered look, he sighed and let go of her in favor of spreading his arms out to balance himself while he walked backwards.

She gasped, obviously expecting him to fall, but when he just kept steadily walking away and nodded his head in encouragement. Brows furrowed, she stretched her arms out to mirror his and hesitantly put one foot forward. Grinning, he started moving backwards once more, and slowly, she began to follow. Before long, he'd grown tired of it and returned to the road, but the blonde apparently loved it, because she stayed there, humming cheerfully as she swung one leg in front of the other.

Happy teased her about falling in, but when she actually did wobble for a moment, both of them leapt forward to grab and steady her. Not willing to tempt fate again, the cat sat on her shoulder to stick close, and he himself kept just a few feet away. Things quieted down after that, but he didn't mind as much now. It felt… better, somehow. He was satisfied with how the day had ended.

The mission had been weird but good, and Lucy had turned out to be weird and better than good, and he found that that suited him just fine.

* * *

 _Fun notes: I don't know if anybody else noticed, but Natsu is kind of a vicious bastard, even when he's not taking you seriously. Also, he has some hysterical facial expressions in the early days. I'm a little disappointed this particular format doesn't allow me to really describe them beyond Natsu feeling a particular way._

 _Anyways, let me just say a massive thank you to everyone that Favorited, and Followed. I'm tremendously flattered at everyone showing interest in this humble fic. And your_ _amazing patience as well._

 _Reviews (BTW, I only do this because otherwise, I wouldn't reply at all. The hazards of procrastination.):  
Celestialite, Writing bunny, OhtaSuzuke, and GryffindorsRock, I'm glad you guys are interested in this story!  
_ _Whyote , Sawakaze-Steph16, and KHLostEmpress, I'm pleased to know other people are enjoying my Natsu POV. He's pretty fun to write.  
_ _Semi-absorbed , it's a tremendous compliment to know that despite your preferences, you're still enjoying yourself. It IS pretty nostalgic, yeah.  
_ _Elise , Will do. But don't worry, considering my speed, you'll be current long before I get even close to there.  
_ _Lyonsgirl , thank you. It's definitely gonna be slow, but we'll get there eventually. This1Voice, glad I could deliver on that, slow as I may be. I'll try not to get too crazy with my little add-ons, I promise.  
_ _cutekittenlady , the constant dismissal of Lucy's competence is a sore point for me, so yeah, emphasis goes there. And yes, Natsu isn't a total dumbass, so I'm working on that too. Thank you!  
_ _Guest (1), Lucy's __characterization, even amongst pro-Lucy fans, does stray there on occasion in early-series renditions, so I'm glad you appreciate my portrayal of her.  
_ _serioushugsies , Natsu's POV in these sorts of things is surprisingly uncommon, isn't it?  
_ _Kyogre , not gonna lie, there was a brief shock of terror when I first saw you had reviewed. No offense, I just get intimidated when people I admire read my stuff. And that IS something they'd complain about, but in hindsight, Gray's situation with Juvia probably warrants it more. And Natsu getting Lucy's name wrong even internally for most of that time period is a personal head canon of mine you'll have to pry from my cold, dead hands.  
_ _Guest (2), yep, it's still going. I'm just a slow writer.  
_ _SubtleJoy , the premise really just started out as "ten bucks says Natsu is nonchalant about all the romance because Igneel's already explained this shit to him" with my love of courtship tropes as a bonus. And thank you! Characterization is a massive thing for me, and I don't care for flanderization, especially to **main characters**. Hijinks will definitely increase once Natsu actually starts taking Lucy seriously… which will be a while yet. Ah, thank you so much for the compliments on my writing. I'm actually pretty subpar by my standards, but you saying that is immensely satisfying to hear… er, read. Because I do take pride in it. As for making you wait too long… whoops. Does nearly a month count as too long?_

 _As always, let me know what you guys think! I appreciate all feedback, even if I might not necessarily like it._


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